Doffer.



B. A. PETERSON;

DOFFER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 20, 1910.

Patented June 3, 1913.`

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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B. A. PETERSON,

DOFFER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 20l 1'910.

Patented June 3, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

lllll' 1 I l I+ I UNITED sTATEs' PATENT OFFICE.

BUBT A. PETERSON, OF ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO HOWARD D. COLMAN,

LUTHER L. MILLER, AND HARRY A. SE

VERSON, COPARTNERS DOING BUSINESS AT BOCKFORD, ILLINOIS, AS IBABBER-COLMLAN COMPANY. i

DOFFEB.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led July 20, 1910. Serial No. 572,823.

f Patented June 3, 1913.

To all whom 1' t may concern.'

. Be it known that I, BURT A. PETERSON, a citizen of the United Sta-tes, residing at Rockford, in the county of Winnebago and State of Illinois, have invented certain newv Vis a fragmental side elevation of a bobbin magazine and a bobbin feed embodying the features of my invention. Fig. 2 is a fragmental vertical section through the magazine and bobbin feed. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view through the magazine, showing it in position on the doffer. Figsf4, 5 and 6 are views in a series showing consecutive stages in the movement of the bobbins from the magazine to the bobbin-feeding means. Fig. 7 is a fragmental top. plan View of the seat upon which the magazine is supported 'when in place on the doffer.

The magazine comprises opposite side Walls 1 and 2 united by rectangular top and bottom frames 3 and 4. It is providedv with a removable bottom 5 adapted to fit between opposite sides of the lower frame 4 and against stop flanges 6 on said frame. A locking bar 7 is pivoted at its mid-portion upon the lower side ofthe bottom 5, the ends of said bar being adapted to enter slots V8 (Fig. 4) in the lower frame 4.. It will be seen that the bottom 5 is insertibleinto and removable from the magazine by movement' of the bottom in avertical direction. The doffer may be provided with means for thus removing and replacing the bottom, but as this means is no part of the invention herein claimed, said means will not be describedV herein.

The butts of filling vbobbins are considerably larger in diameter than the tips of such bobbins, therefore it will be seen that if filling bobbins are stacked one upon another With the tips extending in the same direction, the bobbins will depart more and' Figa Ilv and 4 lof .the drawings,

A13 and 14 are contained in the more Jfrom the horizontal position as the stack increases in height. In order to maintain approximate horizontality in the bobblns of a tier or stack, I place the bobbins so thatrthe butts are -arranged in two tiers, While the tips form a singletier; or, in other Words, the butts of a pair of thebobbins will lie side by side, while the tip of one vof said bobbins overlies the tip of the other bobbin. This is best shown in Fig. 4. VThe tips of the bobbins being approximately one-half the diameter of in such a double tier or column of bobbins the bobbins vwill be substantially horizontal. This advantageous arrangement of the bobbins in the magazine is an important -feature of the invention.

In this instance the bobbins are arranged Within the magazine in three double tiers or columns, the tips of all the bobbins extending in the same general direction. In the side wall 1 of the magazine are formed three grooves 9, 10 and 11, the width of each groove being substantially the sa-me as the diameter of the tip of a bobbin. The opposite side of the magazine is divided by partitions 12 into six vertical butt-receiving spaces 13,- 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18, each of said spaces being of uniform width from top to bottom. The Width of each of these spaces is substantially the same as the diameter of the butt cfa bobbin. As 'shown in the bobbins Whose butts -lie in the .spaces groove 9, and the-tips of the bobbins alternate regularly in said groove; that is. to say, the tip f the bobbina underlies the tip of the bobbin ZJ; the tip of the bobbin o underlies the tip of the bobbin d, etc.

The magazine is; adapted to beplaced upon a seat 19 and secured thereon many suitable'manner'.y 'Atene side of said seat are short vertical partitions 20 which conthe tips of stitute continuations of the partitions 12 in l the magazine. (See Fig. 5.) At the-opposite side of the seat are grooves 21 (Fig. 7) which are alined withy and form continuations of the rooves 9, 10 and 11.

When the offer is in operation, the bobbins in the magazine rest upon "a bobbinfeeding means located below the magazine, and constituting the bottom ofthe latter. Said `bobbin-feeding means consists of aconveyerrformedof two endless chains 22 and 23 mounted upon sprocket wheels 24, -said sprocket' wheels being driven in any suitable `manner. The chain -22 has xed thereto lugs 25 adapted toform recesses 26 between themfor the receptiono the tips of the bobbins, while the chain 23 vcarries lugs 27 providing recesses 28 to receive the butts of the bobbins. v

The conveyer removes the double tlers or columns of bobbins in succession; that is to say, the spaces 9, 13 and 14 are first emptied; spaces 10, 15 and 16 next, and finally spaces 11, 17 and 18..

When preparing to feed bobbins, the con between the lugs 25a opposite the lugs 27 27, and that the tip 'of the bobbin b rests upon the tip of the bobbin a. Now, when the conveyer is advanced, the points of the lugs 27 27'will be moved out from under the bobbins a and b, thereby permit-ting the butts of said bobbins to drop into the re-` cesses between the'lugs 27 27 and 27h, and

the tip of the bobbin b to enter the recess between the lugs 25 and 251. The bobbins have now assumed the position shown in Fig. 6, It will be seen that in this position of the bobbins the butt of the bobbin d tends to drop onto the conveyor, whereas it is the bobbin c which should descend onto the conveyer, since its tip underlies the tip of the bobbin d.

In order to prevent the bobbin d and the succeeding bobbins of the right-hand side 4of the column (to wit, those in the space 13) from passing to the conveyer before the corresponding bobbins in. the space- 14 have taken their places in thev conveyor, I provide the following described means: Arock shaft 29 is mounted in bearings 30 and 31in the dofl'er frame. Three fingers 32 have hubs or sleeves 33 which are loosely mounted upon the shaft 29. Said hubs are held against movement longitudinally of the shaft 1n one direction by means 'of ycollars 34, and in the opposite direction by means 'of pins 35 fixed in said shaft and lying within notches 36 in said hubs. For each spring finger there is provided a torsion spring 37 whightends to swing the fin er toward the magazine t'o the extent permitted by the engagement of the pin 35 with one .wall of the notch 36.

To the upper end of each of the fingers 32 is fixed a pin 38 whichextends within an opening 39 formed in the seat 19 and is adapted to bear against the tip of a bobbinl lying within the adjacent groove 21 and' press said bobbin against theopposite portion ofthe seat 19, and thus prevent said bobbin from descending onto the conveyer. The pin 38 is of such diameter that it does not enter the axial opening extending through the bobbin.

The shaft 29 is arranged to be rocked by any suitable means, as, for example, a cam 40 operating upon a roller stud 41 carried by an arm 42 fixed to said shaft. The in 38 is yieldingly pressed against the bob in by the spring 37.

In use, when the bottom 5 is lowered into the position shown in Fig. 2, all the bobbins in the magazine settle until the lowermost A bobbins of all the columns rest upon the conveyer, as shown in Fig. 5. When the conveyer begins to move, th'ese lowermost bobbins drop into theirproper spaces in the conveyer, thus filling the latter. Thereafter, the column of bobbins contained in the spaces 9, 13 and 14 is the onl one fed until that column is exhausted, wiien the next column (that in spaces 10, 15 and 16 is fed. While the first column is feeding, t e finger 32 for that column detains the bobbins ,f, It, etc., and thus prevents said, bobbins from dropping into the spacesintended for the bobbins c', e, g, etc. v

I claim as my invention:

1. In a doer, a magazine for filling bobbins provided with means forming two separate spaces for the butts of the bobbins and a single space for the tips of all the bobbins.

2. In a doffer, a magazine for lillin bobbins comprising two opposite side wal s, one of said walls having tip-receiving spaces therein, and the opposite side of the magazine having butt-receiving spaces, there being twice as many butt-receiving spaces as there are tip-receiving spaces, each butt-receiving space being only wide enough to receive a single bobbin-butt.

k3. In a dofl'er, a bobbin magazine having a withdrawable closure for its lower end, a support for the lower end of said magazine, an endless conveyor beneath said magazine, said conveyer having a plane upper,I side on which the bobbins in the magazine rest when said closure is withdrawn, said closure beine` withdrawable below the upper side of sai conveyer, and mechanism acting upon bobbins in the magazine to control their descent onto the conveyer.

4. In a doffer, a magazine, a support u on which said ,magazine rests, and a mem er movable through one side of said support into position to press against one end of a bobbin and press said bobbin against the op posite side of the support.

5. In a doier, a magazine adapted to contain a vertical column of bobbins, an endless conveyer located beneath said magazine and supportin the column, and operating transversely o the bobbins, and mechanism acting upon bobbins in the column to control their gravitational movement'onto the conveyer.

6. In a doffer, a magazine adapted to contain avertical column of bobbins, said magazine havin a vertical groove therein to receive thetlps of the bobbins, a su port for the magazine containing a groove orming a continuation of the roove in the magazine, and a membermova leinto and out of engagement with a bobbin-tip in the second mentioned groove.

7. In a doler, means for guidin bobbins for gravitational movement, an en less bobbin-movin conveyer below said guiding means, an means for controlling the descent of bobbins to said conveyer, said controlling means comprisinga pivoted arm, a bobbinengagingl means. carried by said arm, and means for swinging said arm to move said engaging means toward and away from the path of the bobbins. N

8. In a do'er, means for guidin bobbins for gravitational movement, an en less bobbin-moving conveyer below said guiding means, and means for controlling the descent of bobbins to said conveyer, said controlling meanslcomprising a pivoted arm, a bobbinengaging means carried by said arm, means tending to swing said arm toward the path of movementfof the bobbins, and means -for swinging said arm away from such path of movement.

9. In a dofer, a magazine adapted to contain a vertical column of bobbins, a support upon which the lower end of said magazine rests and to which said magazine is detachably connected, said magazine having a withdrawable closure for lts lower end, an endless conveyer beneath the magazine and olperable transversely of the bobbins, said c osure'being withdrawable below the upper side of the conveyer, and a member movable toward and away from a bobbin in the column and adapted to press against one end of the bobbin to prevent its discharge onto the conveyer. v

BURT A. PETERSON. 

